Electric battery



Feb. 2, 1932. M. WILDERMAN 1,843,531

ELECTRIC BATTERY Filed oct. 12, 192e Patented Feb.,v 2, 1232 MEYERWILD'ERT/IAN, OF HAMPSTEAD, LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSTGNOR, BY MESNE AS-SIGNMli'NTs, TO THE AMERICAN WILDERMAN POROUS EBONITE COMPANY, INC., 0FPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA' ELECTRICBATTERY Application led October 12, 1923, Serial No. 312,158, and inlGreat Britain .Tuly 7, 1928.

This invention has for its object to prevent short-circuiting inelectric batteries.

In the working of the electric battery it is essential'that no shortcircuiting should take iK place between the electrodes. lt is .soessential that treated wooden separators have been introduced, in lspiteof their short life and a number of disadvantages, instead of perforatedsheets of ebonite having a much longer l@ life.

The introduction of porous ebonite separators has removed thedifficulties connected with treated wooden separators. On account oftheir much longer life the short circuiting between the' surfaces of theactive material of the positive and negative electrode within the outerrims of the grids of the electrodes is greatly decreased or entirelyeliminated.

By the use of electrodes having feet at the lower rim andY by the use ofporous ebonite separators, or separators in general, of a larger sizethan the electrodes, so that the separators project out of theelectrodes all y round the outer rims of the electrodes, and

especially by the introduction of porous ebonite separators havingframesI made of nonporous ebonite, short circuiting around the rims ofthe positive 'and negative electrodes was also prevented, except,however,

30. at the feet ot the electrodes restlng upon the supports of thecontainer at its bottom. Here the falling down active material of theelectrodes collects as usual on the supports of the container, causingshortcircuiting, and there is no possibility of preventing this by meansof the separator.

The applicant proposed in his application, Ser. No. 312,156, filedOctober 12, 1928, to make the separator with cut-outs at the bottom ofthe separator so that the separator meets with its cut-outs thesesupports of the container and can be pushed down over these supports.This, however,.presents its ditliculties. It thecut-outs are much largerthan the supports then it does not serve sufficiently for preventingshort circuiting at the supports of the container, and if the cut-outsare made -to fit the supports, difficulty-is found in assembling theelectrodes and the separators,

and in bringing them in into the container,

.under the feet (e) of the electrodes.

these operations becoming precision work,-

which in combination with the correct con# struction of the separatorand of the container alone can solve the problem. l

This forms the subject of the present invention which is illustrated bythe Figures 1-11.

For this l construct the electrodes in such a manner that the grids ofthe electrodes contain above the supports of the container metal stripsof lead-antimony, i. e. strips having lno active material which in thecourse of working of the battery could fall ofi' from the electrodes andfalling down settle on the supports of the containero The separator isso constructed, that it fills up the total space between the electrodesat these supports of the container so as to prevent the falling offactive material entering the space over the supports of the container.The metal strips are taken to be wider than the supports of thecontainer on which the metal strips of the grid of the electrodes restand may be widened at the bottom.

By way of example I give here a fewillustrode (b), with the separator(a) between projecting out of the electrodes. The electrodes and theseparators are provided with two vertical ribs (0l) coinciding together,the electrodes having in this case feet (e) at the bottom below the twovertical ribs (d) and standing on the supports (g) of the container (f)which are so arranged as to come The object of the feet (e) being tomake the separator resting on the supports of the container projectbelow the lower rims of the electrodes thus better separating andinsulating the same. 5 Fig. 2 is an enlarged section of Fig. l on 'line2*2 of Fig.' l.

is shown to be thinner than the positive electrode, but it may also betaken of the same thickness. The separator is made of porous ebonite orany other suitable material, provided with a noncompressible frame (c)made of nonporous ebonite or any other suitable material, havingvertical ribs (h) made of the same noncompressible material as theframe; the vertical strips (d) of the positive and negative electrodesand the rib (h) of the separator coinciding and leaving no free spacebetween the ribs of the positive and negative electrode and supportmgthe elec- 20 trodes at the same time. It will be noted that the verticalribs of the electrodes and separator are essentially wider than thesupports (g) of the container...

ln this case the porous ebonite separator is removed both from thepositive and negative electrode, leaving a greater space between theseparator and the positive electrode than between the diaphragm and thenegative electrode.

Fig. 3 is a similar figure to Fig. 2 showing a modified separatorconsisting of porous ebonite but having no nonporous frame. The verticalstrips (c) and (h) of Fig. 2 made of non-porous noncompressible ebonitehere consist vof porous ebonite and are denoted by letters (0') and U1.coinciding with the vertical ribs (d) of the electrodes and supportingthe same. The porous ebonite separator is here represented to be fiatand in contact with the negative electrode and is provided with narrowvertical ribs on the positive side, leaving free spaces for the solution between the separator and the positive electrode. IThe narrowvertical ribs between the wider separating ribs (h) support and separatethe two electrodes.

Fig. 4. is also a similar figure to Fig. 2 showing another modifiedseparator made of porous ebonite, having the porous separator removedfrom the positive and negative electrodes but leaving a bigger spacebetween the separator and the electrode on the positive side than on thenegative side. The separa` tor is provided with vertical strips ofporous ebonite (h2) covering and separating the two vertical strips (d)of the positive and negative electrode and filling up the space betweenthem.`

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modified 4 co form of the positiveelectrode (a) and negative electrode (b) with a separator (0') between.Each electrode has two vertical ribs, (d) indicating the two verticalribs of the positive electrode and (d2) the two vertical ribs of thenegative electrode. Both elec- The negative electrode trodes have thesame shape but their posi- 4 tions are reversed when assembled in thebattery. In assembledposition, the vertical ribs d and d2 of thepositive and negative electrodes respectively, do not lie directlyopposite each other, as is the case in the arrangement shown in Figs. lvto 4. Each' electrode is shown to have two cut-outs at the bottom, (c)indicating the cut-outs of the positive electrode and (ithe cut-outs ofthe negative electrode. These are lso arranged in the electrode thatwhen the electrodes and separators are'put together the cut-outs of oneelectrode are opposite the vertical ribs of the other electrode. It mustalso be understood that the electrodes could be made also withouty suchcut-outs. Under the two vertical ribs of the electrodes there are feet,(e) on the positiveelectrode and (e2) on the negative electrode. Theelec-- trodes stand on these projections, the container (f) being soarranged that two supports for the electrodes come exactly under theprojections of the positive electrodes and two supports under theprojections of the negative electrodes. Also here the supports (g) ofthe positive electrodes and (g2) of the negative electrodes areessentially narrower than the vertical strips (d) or (d2) of theelectrodes. The separator projects out all round the rims of theelectrodes resting upon the same supports (g) andtgz). The sepf arator cshown in Figure 5, and the separator c shown in Figure l, if desired7may be provided with cut-out portions at their lower edges correspondingin position tothe supports g and g2 so that the separators will projectdownwardly beyond the electrodes even farther than shown in Figures 1 to5. This arrangement further decreases the danger of short circuiting.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on line 6 -6 of Fig. 5 showing a porousebonite separator having vertical ribs (h3) made of nonporous ebonite inthe same way as the frame c3 of the separator and separating the rib(03') of the positive electrode from the negative electrode. Theseparator has a porous ebonite rib (h4) separating the vertical rib (d2)of the negative electrode from the positive electrode. The reason forthis arrangement is that the active material of the positive electrodeleaves the electrode much easier than the active material of thenegative electrode, so that although it is necessary to provide animperishable non-porous separating rib h3 of the separator at thevertical rib ((Z), such a rib of -nonporous ebonite is avoided at therib (d2) of the negative electrode, in order not to diminish too greatlythe active surface of the positive electrode. The porous eboniteseparator is shown here, by way of example, as adjacent to the negativeelectrode and leaving free space for messer the solution between theseparator and the positive electrode.

Fig. 7 is a modification of Fig. 6, in which the separator frame c andvertically separating strips h2 are made of porous ebonite, the objectbeing to reduce the active surfaces of the electrodes as little aspossible. Fig. 8 is another modification of Fig. 6, the separatorconsisting of porous ebonite alone and being removed from th-e positiveand negative electrode, leaving a larger space between the separator andthe positive electrode than between the -separator and the negativeelectrode. rlhe separator is provided with porous ribs (12,2) coveringcompletely the vertical ribs (03') of the positive and (d2) of thenegative electrode and is further provided with narrow vertical porousribs between, so as to sup-port the electrodes.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of a separator given by way of example. rllhesame comprises an ebonite frame and two vertical ribs (It), theseparator to be used with the arrangements and construction of theelectrodes given under Fig. 1. The vertical strips of the frame and thevertical strips (JL) have the same thickness as the upper and lowerdistance between the electrodes, while the horizontal strips of theframe have thevsame or nearly f the same thickness as the porousdiaphragm and are provided with small projections (m) as shown in Fig.10 to keep the electrodes apart and to support the same. The porousdiaphragm is here removed both from the positive and the negativeelectrodes, but is more removed from the positive electrode than fromthe negative electrode.

Fig. 10 is a section of the frame on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 represents a porous diaphragm without a Jframe adapted to beused in connection with the electrodes of Fig. 5, having porous eboniteribs (h2) shown in Fig. 7 or 8 with narrow vertical porous strips asshown ghe same Figures 7 or 8 and denoted by Figs. 9 and 11 may be madewith cut-outs under the vertical strips (la) or (k2) into which thesupports (g) of the containers could enter a few-millimeters.

By introducing the vertical strips into the electrodes the activesurfaces of the same be come smaller by a few per cent and this is adisadvantage.` On the other hand such an electrode with two or morevertical strips is very much stronger,'can be made thinner and at thesame time it will have a much .longer life and be less liable to bendingor buckling,

` so that a more rationally constructed battery can be easily produced.It is known that in most of the batteries on the market there is nobalance between the active material of the positive and the negativeelectrode so that the negative electrode can be made thinner. A

"- battery can easily be constructed having thirteen plates instead ofeleven plates, requiring no more' active material, so that a batteryhaving a larger capacity, having the same volume and giving shortcircuiting at the supports of the electrodes only7 after a very muchlonger time, will be the outcome of such a construction.

Instead of arranging two or more vertical lead-antimony strips withinthe grids of the electrodes above the supports 4of the container, two ormore vertical strips of the active surface of the electrode above thesupports of the container may be insulated on both sides of theelectrode, thus preventing these in sulated strips of the activematerial of the electrodes from taking part in the chemical react-ions.rlhe separators are constructed and arranged also here, as given above.

It is evident that by using iat vertical insulated strips in theseparators, filling up the spaces between the positive and negativeelectrodes over the supports of the container, the surta ces of theelectrodes in contact with these insulating strips of the separators arethus insulated from one another, and no current can pass at these placesfrom one electrode to the other iff the electrodes and separators arewell pressed together to one block. rlhis will also considerably reducethe amount of the active material which can leave the strips of theelectrodes above the supports of the` container. This arrangement,however, will not be as efficient and secure as ,the first twoarrangements described above.

I do not restrict the construction of the electrodes or of the separatorto the shapes given above by way of example, nor to the material of theseparator or to the active material of theelectrodes as mentioned above,nor to the number of the vertical strips in the grid of the electrodes,which for large size of electrodes may be increased.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be carried through l declarethat what l claim is 1. An electric battery comprising positive andnegative electrodes having substantially vertical strips of nonactivematerial which is not decomposed during operation of the battery,separators, and a container provided with supports for the electrodesand separators, said vertical strips of non-active material being placeddirectly over the supports, the separators being provided with p ribswhich contact with and fill up the space between the strips on-adjacentelectrodes, the ribs on the separators and the strips on the electrodesbeing at least as wide as the'supports ofthe container.

2. An electric battery comprising positive and negative electrodeshaving substantially vertical strips of nonactive material which is notdecomposed during operation of the battery, separators, and a containerprovided with supports for the electrodes and separators, said verticalstrips of non-active material being placed directly over the supports,the separators being provided with ribs which Contact with and ll up thespace between the strips on adjacent electrodes, the ribs on theseparators and the strips on the electrodes being at least as Wide asthe supports of the container, said non-active strips on the electrodesbeing of the same material as the grids.

3. An electric battery comprising positive and negative electrodeshaving substantially vertical strips of nonactive material which is notdecomposed during operation of the battery, separators, and a containerprovided with supports for the electrodes and separators, said verticalstrips of non-active mate rial being placed directly over the supports,

the separators being provided with porous ribs which contact with andlill up the space between the strips on adjacent electrodes, the porousribs on the separators and the strips on the electrode being at least asWide as the supports of the container.

4. An electric battery comprising positive `and negative electrodeshaving substantially vertical strips of nonactive material Which is notdecomposed during operation of the bate tery, separators, and acontainer provided with supports for the electrodes and separators, saidvertical strips of non-active material being placed directly over thesupports, the separators being provided With non-p0rous ribs WhichContact With and ill up the space between the strips on adjacentelectrodes, the nonporous ribs on the separators and the strips on theelectrodes being at least as Wide as the supports of the container.

10 In Witness whereof I afiix my signature.

DR. MEYER VILDERMAN.

